EFF vows to take Zuma to Concourt for failing to uphold constitution

‘Working with Jacob Zuma like he is the president is also a violation’

THE EFF has vowed to directly approach the Constitutional Court to force Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete to institute disciplinary charges against President Jacob Zuma.

The latest move by the EFF followed their failed bid to block Zuma from delivering his State of the Nation address on Thursday last week, alleging that “he was an illegitimate president” who, the Concourt found, had violated his oath of office.

In the past, the EFF has used similar tactics to block Zuma from addressing Parliament and in most cases Mbete had to rope in parliamentary security services to kick party MPs out.

However, on Thursday the clashes between the EFF’s MPs and parliamentary security services took a violent turn which saw scores of these parliamentarians being subjected to vicious assaults by the guards. EFF leader Julius Malema yesterday alleged that the guards squeezed his private parts and attacked pregnant and sick women before kicking them out of Parliament while acting on Mbete’s orders. Malema said the events of Thursday prompted them to approach the Constitutional Court because Mbete and ANC members were failing to implement the March 31, 2016 ruling against Zuma.

The Concourt found that Zuma “failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the land”.

“Because of this, and not anything else, Jacob Zuma is not eligible to be president of South Africa. Treating and working with Jacob Zuma like he is president is also a violation of the constitution, and the National Assembly is not constitutionally allowed to vote wrong into right even if it were to be by all of its 400 members,” Malema said.

He further said: “We have taken a decision to approach the court to force Parliament to either institute disciplinary charges or impeachment proceedings against Zuma. The Constitutional Court judgment must serve as prima facie evidence to the effect that Zuma should not be holding office,” Malema said.

He said his party was of the view that Zuma must appear before a parliamentary committee to give reasons why he failed to abide by the remedial actions of former public protector Thuli Madonsela on her findings regarding the security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.

“He misled Parliament by saying he received a bank loan to build his Nkandla home when he did not,” Malema said.

He also announced that his party had reported some of the parliamentary security services members to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate under Robert McBride, claiming some of them were members of the SAPS.